Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Nicolas Bourriaud has Essay Writing ADD

Reading "Culture as Screenplay: How art reprograms the world" was -for one- really enjoyable. Bourriaud, while highly intelligent and undoubtedly insightful and well read, keeps an nonacademic tone. I appreciate this approach to criticism.

In relation to detournemont I think Bourriaud does a fantastic job of tying the DJ or programmer or contemporary artist in any context to Debord. Also, I completely agree with him on that.

A part of me is still mildly apprehensive to the notion of works without end. While I am one who steals concepts and ideas from other authors and artists I do think of each work individually. Plus, in digital culture most works can be so easily reproduced that there is no need to "end" them. I do see each work as collage of content and idea but . . . I'm still not convinced I guess.

What really caught me with this essay is the work of Matthieu Laurette . "Matthieu Laurette uses newspaper classified ads, television game shows, and marketing campaigns as
the media for his work." I like his hyper conscious approach to postproduction art. His work seems to -very knowingly- step out of the Duchamp, Debord, Warhol evolution of theft as thought. (I meant that in a good way.)

I was really interested in was the bit mentioned in the beginning of the essay. "Laurette is reimbursed for products he has consumed by systematically using promotional coupons ("Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back"), he operates within the cracks of the promotional system."

That seems to be an appropriation right out of Abbie Hoffman's repertoire.

This essay, moreover, has kind of left me in a Keatsian state of negative capability. I'm kind of without judgment on this one.

I'm going to let it soak in for a bit.

No comments:

Post a Comment